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Cell Phone Receivers Too Close to Bay Ridge School?
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 10, 2008
Modified Mar 10, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 10, 2008
Modified Mar 10, 2008
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Image: The Bay Ridge Rover.
Last week a group of concerned Bay Ridge parents and local officials held a rally and picket line outside a neighborhood Verizon Wireless retailer. The group was demanding the company remove the cell phone receivers installed on a rooftop near P.S. 185; they say the receivers emit dangerously high radiofrequency (RF) emissions and should not be placed near schools. They are also calling for legislation limiting where the receivers can be installed.
The FCC admits that RF levels are higher when cell phone antennas are mounted on city rooftops, but “exposures approaching or exceeding the safety guidelines are only likely to be encountered very close to or directly in front of the antennas.” Of course there’s much debate on the matter; last year a group of scientists and researchers released evidence indicating a risk of brain tumors and acoustic neuromas caused by cellular phone radiation.
While the Bay Ridge protest echoes similar community concerns about cell phone antennas, a church in Greenpoint has been peacefully installing cell phone transmitters with no outcry whatsoever. Over a century old, the Saint Cecilia Catholic Church has been struggling to stay in the black with a diminishing number of parishioners. To raise revenue, the church has let a cell phone company install eight of them on its bell tower, where they’re camouflaged by faux limestone boxes.
Tagged
antennas
bay ridge
brooklyn
cancer
cell phones
children
radiation
receivers
school
tumors
verizon
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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